WordPress sent me one of those algorithmic love notes: “You might like this blog as much as they liked yours.” It’s their way of nudging bloggers into polite reciprocity. When I first started my blog, 100% of my readers were close personal friends. Now, 90% of subscribers are other WordPress bloggers. She liked mine, so I clicked her link.
Her site was called _______IsAChristian. I won’t use her real name—let’s just say it was unmistakably evangelical. Now, I’ve been an atheist for twenty years, and an agnostic for twenty before that. So I approached with caution. But etiquette is etiquette. She liked my blog. I owed her a visit.
Her post was a long, winding story about her church group making sandwiches for people on the street. The kind of tale where the sandwiches are almost incidental. The real star was God—God in the bread, God in the mustard, God in the sidewalk. I read about two-thirds of it. That’s more than I give most stories.
Somewhere along the way, I left a comment. I said I wouldn’t try to debate her religion the same way I wouldn’t tell a child there’s no Santa Claus. It was a simile. It was also a little snide. But it was honest. I wasn’t trying to be cruel—I was trying to explain why I wouldn’t debate her beliefs. I figured she’d appreciate the boundary.
I followed up with something more generous: “As an atheist, I wasn’t moved by the religious framing, but I was moved by your group’s compassion for the hungry.” I meant it. The sandwiches mattered. The kindness mattered.
She replied: “You don’t love Jesus as much as I do.” And then more sermon. Less sandwich.
I commented one last time: “Bye.” And unsubscribed.
Then came the final message. A digital benediction wrapped in barbed wire:
“It was pleasure meeting, but I would be so blessed if you deleted me as a subscriber, so I don’t have to hear your negative comments on my posts because I don’t care about you, bye.”
My first reaction, of course, was “F*** you,” but I’ve learned to count to 10 when I’m mad. My second reaction came after 2 or 3 reps of Seated Marching exercises. Ten counts on each leg. My final reply was simply “Done and Done. Bye.”
I’m telling this story from my point of view, of course. I imagine hers would be very different. Maybe she saw me as the Grinch who stole her comment section. Maybe she felt invaded. Maybe she just didn’t like the Santa Claus line.
But here’s the thing: I saw kindness in her actions. I saw people feeding the hungry. I just didn’t see the need to wrap it in theology. And maybe that’s the real divide—not belief, but packaging.
Sandwiches and Santa Claus. One nourishes the body. The other comforts the soul. And sometimes, both come with a side of unsubscribe.
Peace & Love, and all of the above,
Earl
earlthepearl137 
Well, my friend, welcome to the maelstrom. You’re going to be a major topic on her insane blog now, and I promise you, she’ll be reporting you, threatening you with legal action, and generally being a total twunt.
Good luck.
She has subscribed, unsubscribed, and re-subscibed several times using different e-mail addresses. She’s caught in a loop. I’m hoping that she’ll just go away
She will never go away. She’s like a Jehovah’s Witness pitbull’s really bad yeast infection.
‘I don’t care about you’? Is that what Christians are saying these days?
They don’t make ’em like they used to. LOL
Boy, howdy…
I would use her name …
I don’t have to use her name. She just posted again on my site – A comment about how she dislikes me and my blog – and a LIKE. Reminds me of that Ian Hunter album, “You’re never alone with a schizophrenic.”
Your friend came to my blog to play
I’m assuming you meant “friend.” I guess she’s looking for another site to haunt, since she’s not welcome here.
Jennifer Thomas is BubblyBackWash, but I forgive you for what you did to me. Ms Anthrope started the drama first. BubblyBackWash you lost four subscribers. EarlthePearl137 gained four subscribers. Ms Anthrope added one subscriber. We both need to stop talking about each other on WordPress. Thank you for leaving me alone. I will leave you alone. You started the drama, so you started it, so you can blame yourself.
Jennifer Thomas you got my grandma all upset how you treated me on WordPress. You call me a slut, lunatic, pyscho, inbred twat, you accused me of having sex with animals, you accuse me of having sex with Jesus, you threatened harm against me and you were a bully to me. You two want me to die of overdose on Meth, so what is wrong with you. Then you threatened me, so are you going to hire a hot man to hurt me at Walmart. You threatened me by getting me into legal trouble. My family members are considered with Jennifer Thomas’s posts about me. My friends are concerned about what Jennifer Thomas is saying about me on WordPress, but I ignore it. EarlThePearl137, you don’t bother me.
Jennifer Yamaguchi P.O. Box 71 Ponder, Texas 76259?
OMG…
I’m glad that the moment I see any blog is overtly religious (in any way, not just Christian), I back away and don’t participate. I’d thought I was being overly cautious, but I can see it’s likely to have been a good policy.
Some bloggers who often write over the top religious blogs, also write blogs that I enjoy. I just skip their religious blogs. I suspect that, likewise, there are readers who read my entertainment pieces and skip my political blogs.
Your policy is a lot more balanced than mine. I suspect I’m overly cautious having previously been trolled online.
Once burnt, twice smart. I get where you’re coming from.